Otterbein University Theatre Announces 2014-2015 Season

August 18, 2014

Sweet Charity
Book by Neil Simon
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Plaiano
Directed by Christina Kirk
Music Direction by Lori Kay Harvey
Choreography by Stella Hiatt Kane
Co-Produced with the Otterbein University Department of Music
Sept. 25-28, Oct. 2-4, 2014
Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St.,Westerville

Meet the ever-optimistic Charity, a hostess at a dance club, who wants to leave the world of raunchy, bump-and-grind nightclubs and start a more “respectable” life. She sings, dances, laughs and cries her way through one misadventure after the next, searching for love. Based upon Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning masterpiece Nights of Cabiria, Sweet Charity is one of the all-time classics of modern musical theatre. Get ready for famous tunes and high-energy dance numbers that will make you glad you decided to “spend a little time” with Charity and her crazy, frenetic friends.

In his whimsical, contemporary spin on Thornton Wilder’s classic comedy drama, Our Town, Will Eno brings neighbor and stranger together, mining the metaphysical and the mundane in the everyday lives of the citizens of Middletown, aka Everytown, U.S.A. At the heart of this sweet, disturbing, and immensely moving journey beats the tender, tenacious human struggle for connection and meaning in this mystery we call life.

“Sin leads to sorrow — and sorrow leads to sin.” In this rare presentation of three stories of the House of Atreus, the strength and love of family are tested by temptations of power, honor and revenge. The cry for war to rescue Helen from Troy traps Agamemnon, his wife and children in a spinning wheel of destruction, where horrifying choices are made in the name of “Justice” and consequences reverberate through generations. With boldness and ingenuity, playwrights John Barton and Kenneth Cavander have combined some of the most celebrated plays of the three greatest Ancient Greek tragedians in a fresh, electric new translation. The result is a searing look at timeless facets of human nature that speaks directly to even the most contemporary of audiences.

Into the Woods
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Directed by Lenny Leibowitz
Music Direction by Lori Kay Harvey
Co-Produced with the Otterbein University Department of Music
April 9-12 & 16-18, 2015
Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville

How far would you go to make your wish come true? Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), and a baker and his wife find out when they take a journey into the woods. It’s a magical, bewildering place full of witches, wolves, giants and mysterious strangers, where familiar fairy tales get tangled up together. Wishes come true here, but at a price. Even storybook characters must face the music—of which there is plenty—in Sondheim and Lapine’s irreverent Tony Award–winner.

Subscriptions for the 2014-15 season are available for purchase now and are $82 each. Traditional Season Subscription packages include tickets for Sweet Charity, Dance 2014: Tell Tale Poe, The Greeks: The Murders and Into the Woods. Subscribers may add the Studio Production, Middletown, for an additional $15.

Individual tickets for all productions will be available for sale starting Sept. 2. Individual ticket prices are $25 for Sweet Charity and Into the Woods, and $18 for Middletown, Dance 2014: Telltale Poe and The Greeks: The Murders.

For more information about the 2014-15 season, or to be added to the Otterbein University Theatre mailing list, please call the box office at 614-823-1109. The box office is located in Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville. Information about the current production schedule can be found at www.otterbein.edu/drama.

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